Training-As good as my intentions were about running in Tampa, it didn't happen. We drove down on Friday and went to the rehearsal dinner. I was exhausted, so I slept in on Saturday and then went to the wedding. It was beautiful and I had a blast. Even though I didn't run, I did dance for almost 5 hours, in heels. I think that should count for something. On Sunday, Bryan and I went to Fort DeSoto Beach for a little bit of sand and sun. We ended up wading through the water for about a mile to get to a less crowded portion of the beach, then we swam for probably 2+ hours. It wasn't running either, but it was exhausting. Then we drove home Monday and I didn't get a chance to run then either.

But then, Tuesday came. I started the morning with my feet feeling much better. I think that I really needed that break. I lead our boot camp workout and we ended up running about 2 miles, mostly hills. If anyone reading is in Atlanta, we ran up the hill by the Chastain playground. It is a killer. As much as I enjoyed my weekend off, I was ready to get back to running. We also had a Track workout Tuesday afternoon. The focus of this workout was breathing patterns. After running a couple of warm-up laps and stretching, we had a quick chat about form and breathing and then we did some drills. CoJo told us that the most aerobically efficient runners breathe in or out every 2 steps. Most recreational runners fall somewhere between 2 and 3 steps per breath.

I never knew that it could be so hard to run and breathe at the same time. On our first drill, we had to run a lap and either inhale or exhale with every step (in on L foot, out on R foot). After I got over the sound of 15 people breathing in and out in unison (in sounded like a bunch of women doing cheesy Lamaze breathing)I ran my lap. I thought that I was going to die. It felt like I didn't have enough time to breathe in before I had to breathe out again. We then repeated the drill with 2 steps per breath. It felt OK, but I wasn't really comfortable. I took a quick break and ran taking 3 steps per breath (in- R,L,R, Out- L,R,L). I ended up feeling like I had too much time to breathe in. It was like taking a big breath in and holding for a little bit. Our final drill was taking 4 steps per breath. I felt like I was drowning. I would have to lift my shoulders to breathe in and then I felt like I had no air left to blow out by the time I got to the end of the 4 steps. After the drills, we ran a couple of laps to cool down and then chatted about the drills. I think that I'm most comfortable breathing in for 2 steps and out for 3. I'll have to pay attention to that. I'm guessing that will be helpful information as I get further into my training.

Wednesday morning we ran about 2.5 miles in boot camp then I ran another mile when I got home. I used the treadmill in my apartment complex and I've decided that I'm not going to do that again. After training outside and being in boot camp for so many months, I can't handle running in place like that. I need more visual stimulation.

This morning, was Bring a Friend day for boot camp. We did a field workout and I didn't run very much, so I ran a mile around the park after we cleaned up from camp. I'm trying to decide if I want to run tomorrow morning on my off day from boot camp. I think that it would be better for me to take the day off so that I can be fresh for our Saturday run, but I'm still not sure what I'm going to do.

I have to say that all of this running is really making a difference. I can feel a real difference in my endurance during our group runs. Also, I feel better during boot camp. I'm not struggling as much to stay at the front of the pack when I'm leading. Yet another benefit of my training.

Miles Completed- 45Miles to Go- 206 (before September)

Fundraising-YAY! I'm getting it done!My letters went out late last week and I'm starting to get donations in. I have to say that it has really reduced my stress level. Every little bit gets me closer and closer to my goal. Thank you so much to everyone who has donated so far. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. Please don't feel slighted if you mailed me a check and you don't appear on my website yet, I promise, it will show up. Online donations will show up on my website within 24 hours. Offline donations take almost 2 weeks to be processed. Honestly, I'm very relieved to watch the little thermometer rise on my fundraising page

I'm still working on those Thank-You postcards. I finally found the perfect place to get them printed. I took a couple of pictures for it, but for some reason the top of my head didn't make the photo. It looks a little strange (thanks CoJo). I think that I just need to enlist the help of a more qualified photographer. I'm really hoping to get it done this weekend. I'm going to be pretty busy, but I'll make it happen.Thanks again to everyone who has donated so far! I'm solidly past the 25% mark and heading to 50% quickly.